Beyond exchange models: Understanding the structure of B2B information systems

This paper provides a framework to characterize the structure of information systems that enable transactions between businesses. We propose that the structure of various inter-organizational information systems, including traditional EDI systems and more recent web based exchanges, can be characterized in terms of four underlying dimensions: control, relational support, integration, and technology dimensions. In our paper we explain and operationalize these dimensions as constructs, and examine how each of them might be affected by inter-organizational relationship or product specific antecedents. We argue that these dimensions are fundamental to more realistically representing an organization’s involvement with and use of inter-organizational information systems. Further, we argue that specific product types and preexisting relationships between organizations will be strongly associated with the variables representing the dimensions of Inter-organizational information systems.